BAT raises prices to boost earnings July 27, 2011 British American Tobacco raised its cigarette prices in the first half of 2011 to offset declining underlying volumes helping the group to beat forecasts on Wednesday with a 10 percent rise in half year earnings. The London-based maker of Kent, Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall cigarettes said the price increases helped offset a 1 [...]
BUSINESSES CALL FOR GROWTH PLAN July 26, 2011 BUSINESS leaders, economists and Mayor Boris Johnson demanded strong measures to boost growth yesterday, after figures revealed that the economy grew by an unspectacular 0.2 per cent in the second quarter of the year. While statisticians partially blamed sluggish growth on one-off factors such as the royal wedding, a persistently weak economy could see the [...]
Virgin arm to move to Switzerland July 26, 2011 VIRGIN Enterprise is to shift its domicile to Switzerland in a move that will slash its tax bill. The company, which manages the licences to the Virgin brand name, told City A.M. the move is likely to happen “in the near future”. The announcement will come as a blow to chancellor George Osborne, who has talked [...]
Soros forced to close fund July 26, 2011 HEDGE fund legend George Soros, the man famed for his bet against the pound on Black Wednesday that netted him more than $1bn (£609m), will close his fund to external investment, bringing to an end a 40-year career. Soros will hand back $1bn to investors in a move he says was heralded by new hurdles [...]
Reducing the budget deficit is vital July 26, 2011 IN the end, the economy did grow. But a 0.2 per cent expansion in the second quarter, leading to growth of just 0.7 per cent over the past year, is pretty pathetic. The official figures almost certainly under-estimate the actual growth because of the way they measure construction output, and early GDP estimates get revised [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 26, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES LAW FIRM STOPS WORK ON INQUIRY INTO PHONE HACKING BCL Burton Copeland, the law firm, is no longer advising News International about an investigation into phone hacking. The firm stopped working for NI, which publishes Rupert Murdoch’s UK newspapers, last week, insiders familiar with the situation said, after it was called in at [...]
Poll: US faces downgrade July 26, 2011 THE US is set to lose its top-notch triple-A credit rating from at least one leading agency, according to 30 out of 53 economists polled by Reuters. The shocking survey result was revealed last night, as talks over saving the government from a self-imposed default remained splintered by acrimonious briefings. Republican House speaker John Boehner’s [...]
Jones Lang LaSalle profits surge July 26, 2011 Property giant Jones Lang LaSalle last night unveiled a 24 per cent jump in revenues to $845m (£515m), giving it a net income of $44m for the three months to the end of June. The New York-listed firm, one of the agents for the Shard tower, said net income would have been $50m were it [...]
Private equity circles Caterpillar July 26, 2011 Private equity firms Centerbridge Partners and BC Partners are pursuing Caterpillar’s logistics business and a sale of the unit could fetch more than $1bn, several people familiar with the matter said. Two or three parties remain in the auction as it reaches the final round. Caterpillar hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Robert W [...]
GE calls off $3bn railcar sale July 26, 2011 General Electric has failed to auction off its railcar leasing business, making it the second time in three years the US group has tried unsuccessfully to sell the unit worth roughly $3bn. GE said it was making progress in selling other arms.
